Makers eXperimenters and Operators

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

Project "Thomas Watch" enabling Autism using radio's

Thomas, is 11, he has autism and is struggling with his independence a little bit.

He likes to ride his bike around the street, but sometimes get distracted or goes off a little far.

I do stand outside and keep an eye on him, but when he goes around the block, those 5 minutes or so out of sight can be a little bit nerve racking, knowing he may get distracted or head off somewhere without letting me know.

I found on https://www.retevis.com/h-777-walkie-talkie-uhf-5w-16ch-single-band-2-way-radio

The Retevis H777 walkie Talkie at around $16 per unit

I was able to shown Thomas how to use them.

The box contains 2 radios, docking station and USB charge plug, rubber duck antenna, wrist strap and also additional headset / microphone

I added the Autism Awareness stickers to the radio, in case Thomas is approached by anyone or needs to make them aware of his condition. It just a quick added visual for the general public.

The handset is fairly small, no display to distract from its main function and is easy t use (even little hands) Volume is loud and clear as is the microphone. You can set up CTCSS and DTS to keep out interference as needed. You can also enable VOX (voice operated PTT) if needed.

My idea is now to share radios with friends and neighbours in the street to help keep an eye on Thomas, but it also goes the other way around that we can keep an eye on the other children in the area.

I have recently spoken to OFCOM and they have advised that we can get a simple uk business license which would cover the whole of the UK for £75 for 5 years (£15 / year) and allow all people with autism to be able to use the radios without any additional cost or without breaking the licensing laws.

We are Happy to announce we raised enough money to buy the license

For more details see this LINK

For more information please reach out to us at the club jamesm0jfp@virginmedia.com

Sunday, 30 April 2017

Egham Raspberry Jam hosted by Gartna in Staines Middx. Sunday.

taking a look at the raspberry pi controlling LED colour and brightness

learning about how electricity conducts and makes a sound, Scratch and raspberry pi

Some coding in scratch on the raspberry pi, to make the octopus make a sound, several channels available, also some hidden features which make the onscreen octopus miaow and moves (hidden features)